The Dimensions of Polyn

Chapter 4: Trapped

              The walk home is painful. Polyn's hoofs hurt, her back hurts and any joy left over from her time at the party is gone. She sees her home in the distance, the lights are still on.

Polyn's father and mother are waiting in the kitchen. Her mom is out of her chair for once, her red hair messier than normal. Her dad approaches her immediately.

“Where have you been?” He spouts. He appears sober for once. His daughter doesn't answer, she ignores him and walks to her room. Her dad follows her up the stairs. “You will tell me or I will have the guards come right now.” She continues to ignore him and shuts her room door, locking it behind her. As she moves toward her bed, her father's voice can be heard from behind the door.

“Open this door right now, I've had enough of your disobedience.” There is a small pause, he takes a deep breath and gives himself some room between him and the door allowing him to calm down. “It doesn't matter anymore what you did or what you think of me. I just want to talk to you.” There is a silence, followed by sounds of banging in the room trying to shut him out.

“The application was approved, you are to begin work tomorrow as a sentinel.”

The commotion in the room stops and the silence returns. Inside the room Polyn sits on the floor with her head against the bed, she bangs it once against the cold hard wood, and then looks around unable to see anything but a dark haze. Polyn stands but slams back onto the floor.

The words were like poison. A sentinel? Her own father had allowed her to spend 40 years in a small glass tube. A deep sorrow began to overcome her. This was proof that her parents were uncaring; that they thought of her as worthless.

As the grief becomes unbearable, the dark haze clears out as her anger surfaces again. She opens her door and glares at her father, ready to shout at him but to her surprise, he looks sad. The father that was always so quick to get angry was very somber, almost as if he was going to miss her.

“How could you,” she yells with a tone of desperation, “Because of you my life is gone. She shouts so everyone can hear.

“You were dead to me long ago, but now you have killed me!”

Polyn's father stands there absorbing the weight of his daughters words.

“Say something!” She yells at the top of her voice. Her father gets closer, embracing her with his mighty front legs.

“This was the only way I would know you were safe, he whispers.” He lowers his head and breaks eye contact. “I've had to spend my entire life working where I hate, not even making enough to support my family. I was unable to take the shame of your mother's accident and it was my own fault that I became lost; drunk all the time just to hide my pain.”

He looks back up at his daughter. “Tomorrow, you will go to sleep and when you wake you will be an elite along with all the privileges that come with it. Despite my failures, I have a chance to make this right.”

For the first time, Polyn got to see a side of her father she never knew existed. He was on the verge of tears but held them back as he continued.

“I have been a horrible father and have done my share of bad things. I have neglected you and...” He gets a good look at his daughter. She has relaxed her face and is hanging on his every word.

He couldn't say it. Was there actually love under all the hostility? Even if there was, he couldn't say it out loud. Her rejection of his proclamation would be too much for either of them to bare.

“40 years will seem like only a few hours,” he continues, “You will have everything you have ever dreamed. You can see your friend Lyra and live out your remaining years in peace together. It is my gift to you, the only one I can afford. Even though I may not see you again, I will know that your future is secure.”

Polyn didn't know what was more painful; the fact that her father believed the lie that she would actually be given a pampered life after her service was concluded, or that her fate was now in the hooves of Julius and at the mercy of the corrupt system she hated. There was no way he would understand and she couldn't break his heart by telling him the truth.

She matches her father's softness. “I don't care about riches, or even security. I want to live in a world without pain, corruption, and lies.” She begins to walk past him, makes it to the foot of the stairs and turns around. Her face tightens up as her rage returns. “I never want to see you again!”

Polyn knew her father had tried, but this last ditch effort to make amends was not enough. She couldn't forgive him. Maybe with time she could make sense of all this, but time was in short supply.

With no other choice left. Bolting down the stairs, Polyn makes a break for the door. It opens suddenly and she is knocked back by the force. As she shakes it off and tries to put one hoof in front of the other, two large guards from the reactor factories stand in front of her. The larger one pins her to the floor. A deep voice booms overhead.

“Miss Polyn, you have two choices tonight; you can come with us and be placed in the chamber as a sentinel right now or we can allow you to attend the last day of school for the orientation and you will have a chance to say goodbye to your classmates, make your choice.”

The next morning came too fast. She had made the choice to attend the last day of school. The guards had never been so lenient. Perhaps her friendship to Lyra had more weight than she thought, or maybe Julius thought she might change her mind about being his enforcer. Ether way she was fortunate for now.

She began to pack her things, cramming some machine tools in her small saddlebag. The magic core knife might be a good method of defense and she could always throw some small energy cores at some of the guards to disable them. Either way, if push came to shove, she would not go quietly.

What about the prototype Julius had mentioned? If a device existed that could take her to another dimension. That could be her answer. A project that important would have to be kept in the central lab, that's where everything came from. It would be just a matter of finding a way in. Obviously security would be tight, but she was already going to be in the building for the orientation. A plan began to spin in her head.

“I hope mom has some apples left. She whispers.”

The house was strangely quiet. Her mother and father had left early. Polyn goes into the kitchen and levitates some really bad smelling apples off the counter. She certainly wasn't going to eat them. There is a knock at the door.

The two central tower guards from the night before stand outside. They tower over Polyn and look very menacing. This was obviously a way to encourage her to not cause any trouble.

“Aren’t you guys a little too small for tower guards?” Polyn snickers. She would sometimes resort to insults and sarcasm when under stress to lighten the mood. If she was going to have to spend many years trapped in a tube, this might be a good chance to let out some steam. “Maybe your armor would be better suited to provide shelter for a family of unmentionables.”

She certainly wasn't pulling any punches but the guards weren't amused. This wasn't the first time they had put up with rebellious youth.

“Polyn Aphos, come with us.” The guard demands.

After a short ride in a small, levitating, magic powered buggy known as the guard mobile, they all arrive at the central building. It is massive. Polyn had to arch her neck to see the upper floors. Julius had his office at the top of the 200th floor and that wasn't even the top. Reactor control was up there, or at least it was according to diagrams in the library. Several skyway tracks circled around the top of the building.

Inside were the Sentinels, all the labs, classrooms, government offices and one of the main reactors. Somewhere in there was the prototype as well. The building was impressive but the amount of bits and pony power used to build it was from the backs of commoners. She had to make sure that the grandeur didn't distract her from the reality of the situation.

Polyn and the guards make their way to the central lobby. The entire place was run by a state of the art magic fusion system that no doubt was made possible by the continuous absorption of magic from the thousands of sentinels. An older colt at the front, directed them to one side of the lobby where lines of senior students from the various schools had gathered for orientation.

Walking through a large security door, a guard looks over the saddle bag. A female guard this time. She gets it half way open until the stench of the rotten apples shoots out into her nostrils.

“Your lunch has gone bad, you'd best throw it away in one of the trash receptacles in the main lobby.” She says through a grimace.

The plan had worked, the apple core had hidden the magical one. Lyra was not with her commoner class. Trixie and Zecora stood by the far wall.

“I thought we were going in with the elite class?” Polyn asks. Trixie contorts her face, she must smell the apples.

“The elites are already being interviewed, most of them are getting assigned to positions already...You're a commoner, you should know that.”

A trash can is nearby. Polyn walks over to throw away the stinky apples. She takes moment to reflect on lyra as the red apples sink into the white paper filling the can. While rejoining the group, a unicorn approaches and stands in front of the line.

“Greetings and welcome to orientation.” He was young for a government host. He introduced himself as Shining Armor.

“Welcome to orientation, job seekers,” he began. There are many exiting jobs available in the magi-tech sector. Today we are going to tour this amazing facility and show you the different jobs that are accessible to commoner unicorn graduates such as yourselves.”

The host wore an outfit with a logo of a magic core and waves of light coming out. It was the emblem of the reactor ponies. He was very regal and didn't seem the kind to be working in a lab.

“I know some of you are just here to see the main fusion reactor, but believe it or not I have other things that I am just as excited to show you.” With that he led the group into one of the central elevators. Next stop the office floor.

The offices were as you would expect an office to be. Cubicles, paper and copy machines and large processing computers. There were very few actual ponies working. The artificial intelligence took care of most of the basic jobs. Anypony on duty was there to interface with the computers and process any paperwork. Not even Shining Armor was able to make this job sound exiting.

Some of the students comment on the chewed up pens in the trash can. Magic was forbidden in the offices so even with all this technology, some ponies still had to write with a pen in their mouths. Polyn asked something about the lower floors. Trixie said that it would be pointless and even more stinky to visit purification processing on the bottom floor.

“That's a land ponies Job,” She said.

The reactor floor is next. It is a large factory floor that could house a small skyscraper inside it. The reactor fills all of the space. Around the monstrous machine are small rooms and scaffolding like an unfinished building. Several layers of metallic catwalks are everywhere. There are many workers with white coats.

Inside the machine near the core were the sentinels. You couldn't see them from the outside but they were there. Thousands of them, stored in several floors of tubes. Shining Armor went on about how awesome it was to come to work everyday and see the reactor. It was a reminder to him that he was being kept alive because of these amazing giant machines and those who dedicated their lives to saving “The greater good.” The words were like poison to Polyn every time she heard them. He talked about his job as a floor manager and what it meant to serve all of ponykind. The sad part, Polyn realized was that he wholeheartedly believed the lie or at least had to lie to keep his job.

Polyn decided that enough was enough. She told Zecora that she needed to use the little fillies' room.

“Wow! You have to go now?” Was her response. There was a bathroom on the lab floor. Polyn agreed to wait until the orientation reached the next floor. The elevator had a window where you could see the reactor as the elevator climbed.

“Why aren't we going to the sentinel floor of the reactor?,” Polyn asked Shining Armor.

“We aren't allowed in that area, it's umm... He stutters. “To preserve the privacy of the sentinels.” She didn't buy it for a second.

The lab floor was very white, and very dead. Not many were around. A few sparse ponies wearing lab coats; the sound of their hooves on the marble floor were the only thing making noise. Shining Armor started by introducing the different lab machines. The students stared at the large machines in the large central lab room through heavy glass windows as he explained.

They made potions in one section like “Healing spell in a bottle.” There was a clean room for core chip processing and a dirty room for cleaning of the processor parts for the purifiers. The bathroom was near a door marked “Experimental testing facility, employees with ID only.”

Polyn was assigned a guard to watch over her as she did her pony business and to lead her back to the rest of the tour afterwords. The guard was tall and slender wearing lighter armor than the guards at the front gate.

In one of the stalls, Polyn quickly pulls out the knife fusing some of her own lightning magic into it and creating a lightning core. She yells out to the guard,

“I think there is a problem” The guard carefully peers into the bathroom then slowly walks in.

“What's the problem?”

"I...have a question.”

“What is it?” The guard asks.

“As a guard working in the reactor, why do they use commoners as sentinels?”

He is about to answer as she begins a cynical rant.

“I mean, the stingy Government doesn't really intend to spend money to make them elites in forty years and you have a horde of guards, so why not force the unmentionable unicorns into the tubes; then you can use the commoners...” She chuckles a little in a low pitch, it is exciting to let her feelings all out in the open. Living around corruption for so long, it wasn't to crazy to think that some of it had rubbed off.  She pulls out the core, and threatens him.

“I'm surprised that your sick, twisted master Julius hasn't thought of that one yet.”

“You're not going anywhere, if you think...”

She interrupts him. “The lab key, please, now.

Polyn quickly throws the newly enhanced volatile core at the Guard. He convulses on the ground and falls unconscious. It fizzles on the ground.

“So many great uses for magic cores,” she says triumphantly to herself.

No one is around. The door to the lab is sealed. Fortunately the door has a card key scanner attached. The key the guard was holding fits as she slides it into the scanner. As Polyn fiddles with the key she fails to notice that there is movement in the lab. A middle aged colt begins to move towards the door.

“Don't move,” he shouts.

Polyn lunges through the open door at the the lab tech who falls back from the shock. She pins him down as she threatens him with the electrified knife.

“How did you get in here?” He hastily questions.

“I want to know what this prototype is? What does it have to do with Julius? The lab tech is in a panic.

“There are some bits in a bag on the counter, take them and...” Polyn interrupts, “Oh be quiet, I don't want your stupid bits. I had a visit from Julius who said he had some big new contraption he was working on. Show me and I won't hurt you.” She moves the knife and herself away as the tech gets up.

“You didn't have to resort to such violence, I would have told you about it if you asked nicely.” He brushes himself off as he gets up and introduces himself as Dr. Hooves.

“Did you really knock out the guard?”

“I want to see the prototype.”

“If that's all you want, I'll take you there. I've always wanted an outsider to see it. It's just that awesome.” His excitement takes her by surprise. He motions to a room further inside.

“If this is a trap...”

“No, no trap, of course not, I am a scientist not a deceiver; heck I'm a commoner like you, I just have a much cooler job,” he says proudly.

The two make their way past dim energy cores, metal parts and beakers sitting on shiny white counter tops. It is obvious that there aren't many lab workers today. Dr Hooves walks quickly in his excitement. He forgets to notice a large table in his way and smacks right into it. The jaded unicorn just stares at him unamused.

“So sorry,” he utters, grunting as he gets up again.

“Why do you work in the tech sector, you're not a unicorn?”

“I'm a mechanic by trade, I used to work in a local machine part store until the Government found out that I was illegally making unsanctioned machines...uh, of course, they hired me after they saw the quality of my wares. If you have something that can be useful to them, they might just give you the right deal.” He leans his head back a little, in a prideful display.

“Can you make machines without magic.”

“Yes, of course, they're not just very good. It's all pulleys and gears.”

They finally make their way to a large steel door. The Dr. turns to Polyn. “What you are about to see has only been seen by a few very important ponies.” Polyn stomps her hoof impatiently. The Dr. decides to not make her wait any longer.

The huge metal door opens revealing a circular room with tables on all sides, a large cylinder in the middle, a shiny mirror looking device in the corner, and a computer system that filled a whole side of the room. Often reserved for only the most elite scientists, computers like this one were equipped with a very advanced artificial intelligence. Most AI's were destroyed during the war. If machines were considered an abomination, then thinking machines definitely were.

Dr. Hooves walks to it and turns it on.

“Good Morning, Dr.” The construct has a robotic voice, nothing like a real pony.

“Good morning Cyndi,” he replies. “Please open the 'Staff' chamber.” With almost no delay the large cylinder in the middle opens revealing two objects. The Dr. approaches them immediately.

The “Staff” was a foot long metallic tube. It was black with green and brown with asymmetrical designs covering the outside and a shaped pattern of two black metallic squares on each end. On top there was a silver glass indentation which looked like it could light up any moment. Lying next to the staff was an adjustable brown harness with silver streaks and some green interwoven into the fibers. It had a strapping belt in the center. On the side and top of the harness there was a silver C-Shaped holder obviously made to hold the staff in place.

“Back in the war this prototype magic staff was an idea by the great Starswirl the Bearded. He was the original founder of the Techno-ponies. They were the pro technology side of the war. He began work on it but never finished. The goal was to create a tool that would allow them to explore other worlds that existed alongside our own.”

“I know the story,” Polyn replies dryly.

He tilted his head up and thought for a moment then moved closer to his impatient intruder, seemingly more exited. “We had it in a storage chamber with other artifacts and didn't find it until recently...but I'm so glad we did. It is a marvel of magi-tech and AI so far ahead of it's time we can't even duplicate the hardware not to mention the software program that Starswirl invented. We can only tinker with what's already there.” He takes a look at the mirror against the wall.

“Imagine a world that is different to our own with all the same ponies living in it. A similar, parallel dimension if you will. Because of different living conditions, upbringing and other stimulus, you and the ponies you know might act different even though they are the same pony. The world and others have an effect on them."

"Just imagine that you are an evil person in one world and a peacekeeping pony in another world.” Polyn nods. The Dr. turns away from her and faces the staff. “This staff would allow us to visit these other worlds. Ours has become so bad that this is a great find. Based on Starswirl's findings described in his journal there are hundreds of thousands, if not infinite numbers of worlds to explore.” He grins. “I just hope there is a world out there that hasn't been devestated.”

“Wouldn't it be weird if you saw yourself?” Polyn asks.

“Yes, but I'm sure it would be fascinating.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“I may have just met you, but I see you as the kind of pony who refuses to settle for a normal life; you are resourceful, knowledgeable and you broke in here seeking something outside your mundane life. You are just the kind of pony that would be perfect for inter-dimensional exploration.” He paces around the room.

“I often have to work alone, all the other techs are stuck working on the other floors and with the reactor. There is just no time for R&D and Julius demands that things work properly. It has taken us far too long to figure this whole thing out. We do not fully understand everything yet but we will as we continue to test.” Polyn is interested but is all business.

“When will the staff be finished?”

“It's already prepped, I'm just waiting on Julius for the first test.”

In a dark room, a guard tech sleeps surrounded by monitors. One of them flashes rapidly. Soon a loud ringing awakens him. He suddenly slams his hoof on a button to stop the sound. Operating a console he rewinds the video recording. From an overhead view he sees Polyn leave from the school group and go into the bathroom. His expression changes to panic as he sees the guard get knocked out. Immediately he alerts the other guards through an intercom. Julius gets the message from Kallan who barges into the room unannounced.

“Someone just, umm... assaulted a guard in the women's restroom on the lab floor uh sir...”

Julius watches the image on his monitor.

“I knew I should have put that insubordinate mare out of her misery.” He whispers  to himself.

“This is why we have rules and guards and urgh!” He says pounding his hoof on the table. He motions to the guard. “Kallan, grab one of your fellow guards and meet me in the lab.

Julius turns to Lyra, who stands in the corner. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her. You can't be an official if you can't get people to do what you want.”

“How do you have the journal of Starswirl?” Polyn asks more interested than before.

“We found it with the staff, even now it is kept under close watch. I have to fill out a form just to access the chamber to read what's left of it.”

“What's left?”

“It is only one-hundred pages, some of the pages are torn out and there is room in the binding for much more. Your guess is as good as mine, where the rest is.”

“I am sorry to let you know that anything about Starswirl in the library is only a paraphrase of the original journal content.”

Polyn is angry that she has been reading a doctored version, but not surprised. Dr. Hooves takes a look at the large wall computer he calls “Cyndi.”

“The staff is assembled but not really complete.” The Doctor struggles to explain. “The AI is synchronized, but not able to function in it's proper capacity.” He puts his hoof to his face thinking of a way to explain. “The staff was originally built to connect to its user and learn from that pony's experiences. It's a learning computer."

Polyn just stares at him. He smiles a little then continues.

“Starswirl's journal says that the staff was designed for all kinds of physical and magical abilities. There may be some robotic external functions as well, but that will have to be seen.” He stutters a bit. “Of course only by testing it with a user will it activate. Julius is coming down later to see it tonight and give it a long awaited first test. He has demanded the first one of course.”

Polyn knew that giving a power hungry colt like Julius the ability to go into other worlds would be a bad idea.

“What abilities does it have?”

“Well based on Starswirl's writings, he wanted it to be able to absorb magical energy or extend somepony's magical abilities. It could be used to usher in new paradigms of magic and make the techno-ponies unstoppable.”

Polyn responds “So they would win the war.” The Doctor nods his head,

“Yes indeed, unfortunately you know what happened to the techno-ponies from your studies.”

“They all died from the war, and the core shift,” Polyn answers like reading a text book, “The core shift is the reason everything stopped. One half believed that technology had become an abomination. They thought that the machines would disturb the balance of magic in the world. However it was all of the magical energy released from the war that began to effect the planet itself. Since all magic energy originates from the planets core.”

She pulls out her small energy core as an example. “The core shifted out of position and made everything unstable. It released too much magical energy in the form of a magical poison that decimated the planet in only a few years. Our ancestors found discarded tech in the rubble of Starswirl's mountain lab and used his notes to build the first reactors. Everyone but the techno ponies was convinced that machines were wrong. It turned out that misuse of magic was the catalyst that almost brought the about total destruction of everything.” Polyn shuffles her hooves, “Sorry I read a lot.”

Dr. Hooves was amazed.

“Everyone thinks that the techno-ponies died in that last stand in the mountain lab, but I have always wondered why such a advanced group would basically destroy themselves by blowing up a mountain around them.”

“I wonder why they didn't use the staff in the first place to help them win.”

“I have wondered that too, I guess we won't ever know the bearded one's true purposes. What you don't know is that there seem to be some black boxes in the staff's code. This is probably a database for secrets. Who knows what Starswirl put in there. I hope that as the staff and it's user synchronize and get further acquainted that this data will be revealed.”

He walks closer to the staff. “I'm a little nervous about Julius handling the staff without any real testing beforehand. I don't want to get on his bad side. I would really like to know that the staff works before I show it. Most of my lab assistants are giving instruction to new students so I would like to try a small test of the staff with you as the first test subject. I assure you it will be quick and I will be here to troubleshoot if something goes wrong.” He looks into her staring eyes, “How bout it?”

Polyn sits there with a look of astonishment.

“I guess so, but why wouldn't you have tested this earlier with a lab tech?” The Doctor has a satisfied smile on his face. He leans in with a more sinister look which is very unbecoming of the easy going Dr.

“They're scared of it, scared of change. They're used to a normal life that is predictable. You have an interest in the past, which means you have an interest in your future.” He walks closer to the computer screen. It beeps. “Well, it looks like the 'staff' is operational.”

Polyn walks over to the center of the room. The Doctor Helps her get into the harness which he has to adjust a lot due to her small stature. It is surprisingly comfortable. The doctor slowly puts the staff into her hooves. Immediately it turns on and starts making small beeping sounds. The silver panel lights up as a screen and the words “boot sequence initiated” can be seen. After some more assorted computer sounds, a female voice can be heard talking. It speaks fluidly like a real person with a slightly artificial sound to it.

“Analyzing subject...mare, commoner class...Polyn Aphos, initializing.” The computer already knew who she was. Apparently the staff had been synchronized with the central computer database information at some point. It was an obvious attempt to keep tabs on the user.

The doctor goes to the mirror and presses a button on the side. It begins to glow and resonates with the staff. The two pulsate in unison.

“The gate only opens with the staff,” the doctor explains. “That is a one way mirror, specifically designed by Starswirl himself. The glass was broken and had to be replaced but It works. We want to invent a two way dimensional gate, but it will be a while before we have the ability. There is a possibility that the staff can resonate with certain kind of magical anomalies or excess amounts of power that might allow it to access other worlds without the mirror, but that is yet to be proven.”

Looking at the mirror intently, the young unicorn stares into what could be freedom. She can't let Julius have this device. She tightens her grip on it. The doctor makes some calculations on the computer then approaches the center of the room.

“Go ahead if you would and press the small button on the side of the staff. It will shut down and run diagnostics through the computer here.” He glances in her direction. “So, cool test right?”

“I'm not going to shut it down.”

“What?”

Suddenly two guards, Lyra and Julius barge into the room.

“What is going on here doctor!” Julius is irritated. Dr. Hooves tries to explain his situation, he is nervous and suddenly sweating.

“My assistant and I were...” Julius cuts him off.

“Polyn, give me the prototype now!” He is pointing his hoof at her and yelling.

She realizes that she has left her pack in the other room but has the core knife at her side.

“Doctor, take the staff from Polyn, that's an order!”

“I'm sorry about this doctor.” Deciding not to use the core knife against the doctor, she fires a small fire bolt at him, he staggers back and falls into a table again. Lyra runs in and checks if he is alright. She looks at her friend, horrified.

“What are you doing Polyn?”

“Lets go Lyra,” She says softly. “With this staff we can finally leave. No longer will we have to be trapped in this prison.” She extends her hoof, Lyra shakes her head to her long time friend's surprise.

“I'm not going with you, Polyn, I want to help you. I know you're not too keen on Julius and working for the government but I can get you a good job, and we can work together.” My job gives me an opportunity to be of help to this city and it's citizens. I want the chance to change things for the better.” Polyn's anger intensifies towards Julius.

“As long as he is running things, nothing will ever change.”

“Julius has a plan to shift the planet's core back, he will use the staff to change our fate.” Lyra is speaking louder than she has ever spoken. Polyn looks at her friend, she seems so different right now.

“And you believe his lies?”

“Polyn,” Julius speaks in a softer tone. “If you give me the staff I will make sure you don't work as a sentinel.” I will give you whatever you desire. All you have to do is join your friend, we will make a new world together.” Polyn ignores him and keeps her attention on Lyra.

“On the night of the party when you left, this liar told me of his plan to invade other dimensions with his army and offered me a position as an enforcer. He only wants to start another war, only this time somewhere else. He is never satisfied with his power, he only wants more. Come with me to a world without his corruption.

The staff screen shows the words,

“Portal detected, Initiate dimensional jump?”

“This is foolhardy”, Julius persuades. “Stop this foolishness and begin your new life, It doesn't have to be like this.”

“We've been friends for so long why do you want to run away?” Lyra is on the verge of tears.

“Come with me, Lyra or I cannot protect you. Don't throw away our friendship for him.” Her voice is softer now.

“I have to do what I believe is right, I have to believe that I can make a difference, Please!”

Julius raises his voice. “Enough of this, Guards, take it from her.”

The guards begin to move in. The space around her is becoming small. The staff is still displaying the message, She takes a quick glance at it then looks at her long time friend.

“Sorry Lyra, If that is your choice, then so be it.” Polyn talks directly at the staff in her front hoof. “Initiate.” The once calm mirror begins to whirl like a tornado inside.

“Grab her now,” Julius shouts.

Jumping into the whirling mirror. She is gone. One of the guards stumbles and falls down. Kallan jumps in after her. As soon as he disappears into the mirror, the whirling stops.

As the mirror slowly returns to a calmness, Julius breaks. He kicks the nearby guard who is trying to get up in his clunky armor. and approaches the still injured doctor.

“How could you be so stupid, trusting that mare with our secrets? Your eagerness will soon be the death of me. You're going to open the portal or you will be thrown in with the unmentionables!” Dr. Hooves is able to stand with Lyra's assistance.

“I can't sir, the mirror only resonates with the staff.”

“Then you're going to build me a new staff”, Julius exclaims.

“The staff is a prototype made hundreds of years ago, It would take me a long time to even attempt to build another one.”

Julius yells at him for a while and Lyra contemplates what her friend had said. Julius realizes that chasing Polyn is a foolish endeavor, but he is going to accomplish his goal one way or another.

“Dr... You and your lab techs are going to find a way to get me to another dimension. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life in this city. We are going to expand, no matter the cost.” He turns toward Lyra, “I am sorry, she would have been quite an asset. She questions him as Politely at possible.

“Sir, what should I do?”

“You are going to assist the doctor and make sure he does his job.” Lyra nods. Julius leaves the room, Leaving the young mare and the doctor alone.

Lyra struggles to get her thoughts together. She looks at the silver mirror which has lost some of it's luster. The green unicorn feels very conflicted. She thinks of her friend who has run away. She was avoiding her responsibilities by leaving through the portal, but on the other hand she was glad Polyn would have a chance at a free and open life. Julius had lied to her too, she feels it in her stomach.

“I can't stand that foul aristocrat. He is greedy, selfish, power hungry, and a liar,” Dr. Hooves says, “For too long I have put up with it. I am now committed to sabotaging that lying aristocrat. Let's do it for Polyn.”

“I'm with you,” Lyra says softly. “We need to stop the lies.”

The two sit in the damaged lab discussing their plan of sabotage. It seems a little bit of Polyn has rubbed off on them.